I haven't made chili in a really long time. Last weekend, my friend James made some and inspired me to do the same. I think it turned out quite well.
Ingredients:
- Ground beef (90/10 lean)
- Ground turkey
- Celery root
- Celery
- Onion
- Roasted red pepper
- Apple cider
- Peas (1 can)
- Corn (1 can)
- Black beans (1 can)
- Pinto beans (1 can)
- Kidney beans (1 can)
- Garbanzo beans (1 can)
- Tomato sauce (2 cans)
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Bay leaf
- Kosher salt
- Raw cane sugar
- Honey
- Black pepper
- Red pepper
- White pepper
- Chili powder
- Garlic salt
- Garlic
- Cumin
- Cloves
- Dry mustard
- Paprika
Procedure:
Chili is one of the easiest things to make. All I did was cut up the ingredients that weren't canned, caramelized the onions and celery, browned the ground beef and turkey, put everything in a big pot, and let it simmer for about 2.5 hours. I tasted it from time to time and seasoned it to my taste. I went heavy on cumin because it suited my palate and my mood.
Resulting Deliciousness:
This was fantastic chili. One key thing that some people don't think of is the sugar. Sugar helps balance the spices and salt and really gets all the flavors to blend together smoothly. I didn't make this chili very spicy because I didn't feel like spicy food tonight. Chili, and stews in general, always taste better after sitting around for a while. I'm really looking forward to eating this for lunch for the rest of the week!
4 comments:
Hey Steve--This chili really does look fantastic. Chock full of awesome ingredient! I love all your videos. I make two versions of chili. The one I make with ground venison (from leftover taco meat, spaghetti sauce, etc.) needs a little brown sugar as a balance like you said. The vegetarian chili I make which includes lots of different beans and veggies, including baby bella mushrooms, does not need sugar for some reason ... even though it has a good amount of cumin. The vegetarian chili has actually become my favorite of late.
P.S. I mentioned your crepe recipe in a post I just did on popovers on my new blog. I had told you I planned to make some for my support group meeting. It's coming up on the 22nd and we have a breakfast theme. Some crepes seem like a good addition! ;-)
Best,
Shirley
Actually, I should add that I shared the info in a comment in response to my post on popovers (Better than Sliced Bread). :-)
Shirley,
Definitely let me know how the crepes turn out!
I think you're right about vegetarian chili not needing as much sugar - I haven't made it in a while, but that seems familiar. I've been using juices (mostly apple cider) as the base for most stews/soups/brines/etc. lately, and that largely eliminates the need for sugar, especially when you cook it on low heat long enough to caramelize the natural sugars a little. Maybe a similar thing happens with veggie chili - with no meat, more energy might go into breaking down starches into simple sugars, rather than breaking down the fats and connective tissue of the meat? That's probably way more complicated than the actual explanation - it's probably just the lower fat content.
Thanks,
Steve
Steve--Whichever explanation is correct for no sugar needed for the vegetarian chili, both make sense.
Didn't make the crepes for the meeting last night after all. :-( I was prepared, but everyone brought so much other food (all delicious though!). We might just have to do a "crepes only" meeting in the near future. I promise to give a report as soon as I do a test run though.
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